Melancholic Princess
by Freyjadour
Summary: Link often leaves for long periods of time to protect the Kingdom, in doing so, he leaves Zelda behind.  All she can do is wait but Link has been gone longer than usual.  Her sanity is crumbling with only one question in mind, "Link, where are you?"


**This is a sad, angsty, depressing one-shot. I'm telling you that right away and because of that, Zelda is OOC. She's not her strong independent self. It's also written in a different style a little bit. Either way, I've never written anything like this before but it just kind of came to me so I put it on paper.**

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><p>This wretched weather, it's such a cold rain. It is the beginning of the cold seasons, only a few degrees lower and it would be snow. But it isn't, it rains heavily and straight to the ground, no wind, for that would be too much movement in this gray world. The world is covered by black clouds making the daytime turn night as if any happiness is not allowed. How fitting…how utterly ironically fitting. I cannot help but agree to such a horrid day and I despise how it reflects my feelings. This angst that overcomes me in such dread I cannot help but remain melancholy. I feel so pathetically sad as I stand in this dark downpour. The cold turns my breath into visible clouds, but they are small since my breath has become shallow. It drifts upwards for but a brief moment before dispersing. My feet have turned numb from the freezing thick mud covering my sandaled feet. My fingers fare no better as they clutch to my dress, too cold to unhinge themselves. I wear no winter cloaks and have no hood. I stand in my royal garb, freely allowing myself to be drenched. I stopped shivering after my body grew tired from shaking so much. My long hair sticks in clumps and knots making my head feel frozen.<p>

I make no attempt to cover myself, I do not have the right. I do not move, and I don't dare do so. There is no one else around, I stand by myself near the city's gate. Guards no longer wait with me, if they try, I send them away. I do not want company. They cannot understand, they _do not_ understand. I must stand here, there is no other way, this is how it must be. So I stand still, as if the slightest movement will anger Din, listening to the rain fall heavily on the thatched roofs around me. The rain is the only sound since not a single creature will curse themselves to stand in this bitter rain. But I do. It isn't a matter of wanting to – no – I _have_ to. My body acts on its own, my brain has no control. It is my heart that moves my body, since it knows what I truly want. To stand and punish myself, to try and do anything to make up for what I have done, what I continue to do! Goddesses strike me now! There is no forgiveness for my sins I commit and no matter the sorrow I feel each time. I have no way to repent but stand and wait. If I could not do such a little task I do not deserve life.

That's what I tell myself, but truthfully, it is the hope I cling to, the only hope I have left. If I do not stand and wait, I fear I will die. I'm so weak, to cling to this misery of what I call hope. People would laugh if I wasn't their Princess. Because of my blood, they don't laugh but worry. I remember a time when I was once referred to as The Sunshine Princess, for my optimistic happiness. How naïve and immature, I have a bad taste in my mouth remembering that time. Their new title fits me far better, the one they dare not whisper when I'm around but I know it all the same. I am such an open book even the illiterate can read me easily. The Princess that stands in the rain for hours waiting…desperately waiting. They do not understand, they just don't understand! I have no power to resist; I am drawn to this spot everyday as if I – myself – have been put under a cruel curse. That's what this has to be. Fortunes wheel of malice. It kept me high and happy but now, it spins until I rest on the bottom, so low as to stand in this freezing mud. This cruel unfair world, how I hate you with bitter distaste.

I hear a noise and I lift my head, the first movement in hours. Slowly a man walks through the gate. He doesn't need to look over to know I stand where I am. My heart stops, this is the worst part. I am filled with such high hopes, my spirits lifted. I try and keep them low and realistic, but it's impossible. No matter any logical thought I try and have, it is fleeting. A wide smile spreads on my face, I try and stop it, but again, it is impossible. But seeing him! Seeing this man walk through is the reason why I live! He is my hope, the only peace I have in my departing sanity. It will be so painful, back in my mind, I know that's how this will end. But, the naïve woman rises and for a brief moment, I am filled with wonderful dreams. It will only make it worse, I know this, but it matters not for I have no control.

The man raises his head and pulls down his cloak. He is bundled from head to toe, trying to stay warm. Warmth is something I haven't felt in a long time. He meets my eyes and I don't need words to express my thoughts. His face softens and I know instantly what it means. This is my fear, is why I try to not build my hopes up. The let down is more than I can take and I set myself up for it. I am to blame for such a harsh crash back to reality.

"I'm sorry Princess, there is no messages for you." With that, the mailmen walked onward to his next destination.

The pain that strikes my heart and soul is enough to make me cry. I don't hide it, the rain will hide it for me. The tears run strongly down my face and over my mouth. A small moan of pure angst escapes my lips. It is the most pitiful sound any creature can make. There is nothing I can do to stop it. I stand there, in this freezing dark rain, adding my own tears to the crying sky. Nature understands, it knows the sorrow that wells inside me. I don't move. I contemplate, even for a moment, standing there until tomorrow for when the mailman will come again. I want to, how badly I want to. If not that, I want to grab a horse and ride out of here, but I cannot. I am tied to this throne in chains. How can one in power be so helpless? Fate, you feckless thug, I despise you for what you do to me. The torture I am put through, you sadist!

I clench my fits and let out a scream into the stormy sky. Angry at the world for my predicament. I feel the cold marriage ring clasp tightly around my finger, never letting me forget.

Link, where are you?

I lift my feet and slowly head back to the castle. My legs barely respond as they send shivers up my previously numb legs. My teeth clatter, from the cold or my crying. I'm unsure. My wailing grows worse with each step. Soon my throat hurts as it swells but even that doesn't stop my sobbing. It is a routine I go through every day and still am not use to. My thick hair covers my face and I wrap my arms around myself. It is not the cold that makes me do so, but this feeling of loneliness.

It is in this fashion that I make my way back to the castle. Upon entering my father greets me, as he always does. He hugs me but I am unresponsive. He tells me to go to the bath but I never do. I sadly step to my throne and sit. I am soaked from head to toe but this surprises no one in the court. This is how they see me now, and each look at me with such pitiful eyes I went to rip them all out. I look nothing as a princess should and I could care less. There is nothing I care for. My heart goes cold every day as I shut myself down from the world. The only feeling that emerges is the moment when I first see the mailman. And how I hate that moment for the following one always knocks me down a pit of utter despair.

After the pointless rituals of royalty are fulfilled I go to bed. I strip my clothes and lay down naked. The sheets feel cold against my skin as does the rest of the world. The room is silent aside from the small rain droplets that fall against my window. I feel no relief in this world save one. I reach under my pillow pull out the last letter I have from Link. I don't need to read it, I have already memorized the words from reading it a thousand times. I hold it in my cold shaky hands asking for relief, but it doesn't come. It can no longer help me from my sorrows, it is too old. All the words from Link have no meaning anymore. Whatever he wrote in this letter, is no longer true, too many days have passed.

Ten months…Ten whole months since I've last heard from Link. Where are you, Link? Are you even alive? This thought brings tears that I don't attempt to stop. Why bother, they'll come anyways.

Link is the hero of Hryule, sure enough, never losing a single fight and doing whatever deed he must. This makes him take long journeys, and he ventures on so many. It is not fair, the amount of work he does for this Kingdom. He is gone from this castle more nights than he is here. If it was up to me I'd have him stay within these walls for the rest of his life. Doesn't he understand that when he leaves I feel myself fall victim to melancholy? Worse yet, I am the one that must send him on these missions! Cruel, cruel, fate, I have no words for how much I hate your jealously of happiness. And Link, how wonderful you are. Every time I call upon you to do such a dangerous and selfish task. You smile at me with no ill will and respond, "Yes, my Princess." How can you be so understanding? How can you have no hesitation or reluctance to risk your life for me? I don't deserve life for making these demands on you and truly I hate myself for it. He must know I do not enjoy this? That I am in as much pain as him.

I wish he hated me, how much easier this would be. If he hated me, I could hate him. I would not miss him and I would not feel this remorse. But I don't hate him, and there is no chance I ever will. I am so weak to him, he has completely taken me. I stand like a dog at the gate waiting for any news, and I am met with none.

This is the longest he has ever gone without writing me. How long will it be until he does write? I feel an intense pain in my heart when I think…will there ever be another letter? How long will I wait at the gate for news? Will I wait until I grow winkles? The pathetic sadness of waiting for someone already dead is laughable. But even knowing that, I cannot imagine forgetting him.

"I won't wait tomorrow, I won't go." I promised myself.

And I'm pathetic because I know I will. I made that promise every night for over three hundred days and I haven't kept it once. I think for a brief moment that I may dream and at least be with Link in sleep. But I know from experience, all my sleep is dreamless, since I am not even allowed that luxury. Then, I turn over in my bed, and cry myself to sleep for the three hundredth time. For that is the routine, and I don't think it will ever change.

Tomorrow comes. I wake to my servant girl. She holds out a bowl of soup for me. I know she will not leave until I eat. So I drink the bowl as quickly as I can just to be rid of her. Once she leaves, another servant enters. I stand in the middle of the room naked. I stare into the mirror. The pale skin, it's sickening to look upon. And how disgusting are my visible bones, my shoulders look like points. When as the last real meal I've had? My eyes look like a beaten animal with constant red circles enveloping them. And I swear my hair is thinning. I hate what I've become and yet I find it an unstoppable force. I am too weak to fight back, even for myself.

My servant dresses me and I put up no argument. She washes the caked mud off my feet from yesterday. Then she does my hair, and complains that I need to wash it. I mumble a reply but I'm not even sure what it was. Once that is done, I move to the Great Hall. I sit on my throne without a word to anyone and I stay there.

People come and go, talk to my father or bear gifts to me, in hopes I'll be saved from this depression. It is all the same, the only news worth mentioning was the slave revolt in the east. They are already gathering troops to quell the uprising, they leave within hours. It stirs a lot of commotion because it was the only truly eventful thing that has happened around here. Link's adventures take him so far away to prevent problems before they even begin, it is because of him that Hyrule is the boring, uneventful, and safe place it is. I let out a vengeful snort, because I know if Link was here, they'd have him lead this army.

As the time comes, I rise without another word. Everyone knows my routine and not one word is uttered as I leave. They all stare at me with such sorrowful eyes. I would too if I was them. Seeing their Princess in such a depressed state.

I make my way to the gate, and stand there, as I do every day, and as I always will. The mail isn't perfectly on time, it is only guaranteed between three hours time frame. I get there before the time frame and wait until after it is done. Sometimes the mail comes within minutes and other times, it comes only with a few minutes left. But I don't dare risking the chance of missing the mail, not even once. I could wait in my castle, but I want the mail as soon as it arrives. The thought of waiting even an extra minute is painful. It makes no sense, I am aware of this, but it is how I feel, and I cannot explain it in any rational way.

It was still raining, and if possible, it felt even colder. Every now and then, I see a snowflake fall, but it was still the heavy, cold, dark rain. I began shivering, but I knew it would stop once I went numb. I could wear warmer clothes, but I feel I don't deserve them. I may be a masochist, but that's how I feel. To send Link to the ends of the world for my bidding, I need to repent in some way.

As I grow colder, my breath becomes less visible as if my whole inside has turned the temperature of the environment. It is always now that I think about how long it has truly been. Seasons have passed since I've last even _heard_ from Link. The last I've seen him has been well over a year. I get mad thinking about it. How Link doesn't even take the time to write one letter. But as quickly as the thought comes, it vanishes, because of the guilt that overwhelms me. He is fighting for me, and doing everything he can to survive. I am the one that makes him leave and how can I get mad at him. He should be mad at me! He should hate me! I have no right to hate him, especially not when he does such dangerous tasks.

I've heard the stories he tells his friends, the whispers around the castle of his deeds. He refuses to tell me and I know it is because he doesn't want me to worry. How could I not? I know he slew the great beast that rests in Death Mountain. The invisible sea serpent that lies in the bottom of Lake Hyrule. These things he accomplishes scares me, because I never know what danger he faces next. All alone and by himself.

And I am the one that sends him off!

As if he was just a soldier with a worthless life. But that isn't true! He means more than any other person in the entire world. Our marriage may have been political but I have loved Link since I first met him. There is no one else that matters as much as him. Truly, I know that now. This time of nothingness, this time when I can do nothing but wait…this time is torture. I did not fully understand how much of my heart I gave to him until he left that first time. Those first days were unbearable, and it only grows worse with each day, I know that now. I lost count how many times I've seen him leave through this gate, unsure if he'd ever return. How can I complain, after all, I am the cruel one to make him do this. It is me that sends him out!

I heard a noise, footsteps. I see the mailman. Oh no, this part, this cruel twisted agony I face each time I see him. How happy and filled with hope I become. I beg my body to remain calm, but it does not listen. The smile that appears on my face, how sickening it feels to know it won't last. The only time of day I smile, and I hate it so. Because it will only break me down more, and I don't know how many more days I can take this let down. This rise of joy only to be slammed back into hell. Can anyone stand fate's cruelty?

The mailman looks at me and smiles. I am shocked, I am frozen more than ever before. I haven't seen him smile at me for ten months. My hands start shaking. My breath increases as I feel my body come alive. I take a small step forward as my eyes are glued to his yellow teeth. The upward curve of his lips is so taunting it is almost unbearable.

"I warn you sir, if you are lying I will make sure you see the noose." It was an honest threat because I would never be able to stand such a cruel trick.

He lifts his hand and holds out a piece of paper. "I believe this is for you Princess."

I snatched the paper from him as if a beggar grabbing an apple. I leaned over it to protect it from the dark rain so it wouldn't ruin another part of this world. The envelope's seal was Links. A hand covered my mouth as an indescribable gasp escaped. I started crying and even I didn't know if it was tears of happiness, exhaustion, or something else. I was too confused and mixed up to truly know what was going on inside me. I quickly tore open the letter and it wasn't long. I hated when Link didn't write long letters, but anything at this point was from the Nayru herself. I wiped my eyes because my tears blurred my vision and I couldn't read what Link wrote. They fell onto the page and left water marks, but it didn't matter, I couldn't stop them.

The letter read: Dearest Princess Zelda, you will catch a cold if you stay outside for so long, come, let us head inside. Sincerely, Link.

I read it over again, and then again, and then again. I didn't understand, it made no sense. I gripped the paper so tightly it started to rip in my boney fingers. I looked up at the mailman who was still watching me. He nodded towards the gate.

I looked over to see Link standing there, watching me.

My heart never pounded so hard…so much my chest hurt. My tears flowed so easily my eyes squinted shut. I made the most pitiful sounds from my mouth. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't, my lips refused to listen to me. I could only cry out in a mixture between whimpers and relief. My hands started shaking as I begged for my legs to move. They were numb, whether from the cold or shock, I wasn't sure. Finally one leg moved and then the other, until I was running at Link. He held out his arms and I dove into his embrace. I squeezed him so tightly it hurt my fingers. I felt him strongly return the favor. I pressed my head into his chest roughly and it caused him to let out a soft laugh.

"Come Princess, you'll catch a cold, let us return to the castle."

I couldn't reply, I had no words. I had no control over my body. It is as if all the feelings I had repressed since he left came back at once. They completely got the best of me as each one was let out at simultaneously. I wailed into his chest like a madwoman with no means of stopping. I couldn't. He had been gone so long how else could I react? Didn't he understand? Can he not comprehend how much I missed him? Doesn't he realize he's back and I'm never letting him go?

He tried stepping forward but I didn't budge. I didn't want to move yet, I wanted to stand here forever, in this perfect moment, where the only thing that mattered was he returned.

"We must go Princess." He told me gently pressing his lips to the top of my head.

I finally looked up at him and spoke. "Okay."

I didn't let go of him as we walked. As foolish as it was, I was afraid if I did, he'd leave. That if I let go for even one second, he'd be gone from me again, and I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Things haven't changed much." He commented looking around.

"No." It was still hard to speak, my throat hurt from my crying.

"You look thin," He didn't sound happy.

I cast my eyes down but that was my only response.

"Please tell me you didn't wait everyday for the mail." Link looked at me worriedly.

I still didn't answer because I knew he'd be mad.

"You cannot do that Princess," He sighed, "The mail will come weather you wait or not."

"But if I didn't wait, I wouldn't have met you at the gate, when you just got back." I argued softly.

"Well it worked out this time because I figured you were waiting by the gate, so I made sure to wait until the mailman came to give him my letter. Your face was priceless when you read it. Truth is, I got back last night but I missed the mailman so I figured I'd wait until today."

I stopped walking. He stopped as well and looked at me. "You what?" I gaped.

"I uh-"

I didn't allow him to finish as I clenched my fist and knocked him in his face as hard as I could. "You waited!" I shouted. I was so mad, beyond angry; never before have I felt such rage. "You waited!" I repeated.

"I couldn't just walk in normally, I needed some entrance." He explained giving me that cheeky smile I hated.

"No you don't!" I shouted. "You _can_ just walk in! You idiot!"

Then I started crying again, because all I can do now is cry. He was such an idiot, who does that? Who tortures someone just to make an 'entrance'? Why does he have to be so nonchalant about it too? I hate him so much. He's the worst kind of person.

But when he wrapped his arms around me, kissed the top of my head gently, and whispered 'sorry'. I already forgave him, I couldn't help but forgive him.

We continued walking.

"Where were you this time?" I inquired sadly, afraid of his answer.

"You should know, you sent me," He replied. I sent him…I did send him. Is this resentment, does he hate me after all? It was my fault for all of this. He nudged me, "I don't know what you're thinking but it doesn't look good."

"Just answer me," I wanted to know because I only sent him on a task. He traveled around to accomplish it, I never knew where he was exactly or where he had to go.

"I traveled across the seas."

I looked at him to see him joking but he wasn't. No one crosses the seas, they are impossible. The storms, the sea monsters, there is no way to navigate it. "How did you? Why did you?"

"It's a long story Princess," He smiled, "I had to chase someone across the sea, then I ended up fighting a revolution to take back the island nations from this corrupt kingdom, and had to save this chief's daughter, rode on some bird into an island in the sky, went back in time, and trust me it will just bore you."

I gaped at him and only received a smile.

"You did all that?" Where half the things he just said even possible?

He nodded, "That's why I was gone so long. I'm sorry for not writing, but I couldn't get the mail across the sea. Once I was back on shore, I just came back myself, no need to write a letter even if it would've arrived at the castle a day or two ahead of me."

I growled and for the second time punched him. "Send the damn letter!" I screamed. "Even to just let me know you're alive! How dumb are you!"

He laughed and hugged me again. How could I stay mad at him when he laughed like that? It was so wonderful to hear his voice again, to see him and feel him. It was…warm. The cold darkness around my life was vanishing by each second I spent with Link. I was smiling again, I could feel my melancholy dispersing each step I took. As he held me in his embrace, it was so wonderful. How come I can't feel like this all the time? I just wanted to be held by him, nothing else in the world mattered.

We entered the castle and everyone cried out in happiness. Link was loved by everyone but soon I realized it wasn't just his return. A maid came up to me and said, "glad to see a smile on your face, Princess." Was it that important to see me happy? With Link back, everything was better…for everyone. He was the key.

We entered the Great Hall and once my father saw Link he burst in joy. "Link!" He cried and rushed down the steps. Link released me and stepped forward to embrace my father. He has always loved Link dearly. "You are back, thank the Goddesses. I fear Zelda was never going to get better."

"Father," I hissed, that's embarrassing to say, he shouldn't say that. But all he did was laugh, and Link laughed, and everyone laughed, and soon I laughed. This is how it should be, everyone laughing.

"Link, please, go to your room and rest." My father suggested.

"I will, thank you." Link bowed. Then we started heading towards his room.

"Zelda, sorry, I know how you must feel, but please wait a moment."

I never wanted to hit my father before this. Link gently touched my arm and said it was okay. He told me he wasn't going anywhere and I guess that was true. Because of that, I was able to stay. I watched Link leave and the second he stepped out of the room, a sadness befell me. I wasn't ready to let him out of my sight yet.

"Quickly father," I snapped, wanting to get back to Link.

My father sighed and looked very sad.

"What has happened?" I inquired.

"Zelda, my dear daughter, I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"What is it father?" I pressed, my worry growing by the second.

"This slave revolt, it is growing steam, more slaves join by the day, it needs to be put down right away." He explained.

My eyes widened knowing where this was going. "No." I sternly told him.

"Zelda," He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I want Link to go."

"No!" I screamed throwing his hand away. "You can't! He just got back. For the love of Din, give him a one day! One day to rest! You swine, how can you do this!"

"The army leaves immediately to catch them at the eastern bridge. It will be the best tactical advantage; he needs to ride out now." My father explained, not hiding his sorrows. "I will tell him I know-"

"Stop!" I exclaimed as tears were forming. I was sick of crying so much, how come I was always crying. "How can you do this?" I whispered in angst. "How can you send this man out as if he is a beast, ready to serve his master? It's cruel, please father, you can't."

"It has to be done, the moral he'll raise, his skill to lead soldiers. It is a guaranteed victory."

"Stop!" I cried again. "You talk of war as if a game, as if people don't die! Link has served more than enough for his life! Leave him alone! You cannot do this!"

My father placed his hands on my shoulders. "Zelda, I wish I didn't have to, but the Kingdom needs him." What a cheap line of propaganda. "…it's happening Zelda, I'm sorry."

I shoved him away and glared at him the most hate filled eyes I've ever had. "You're cruel father, too cruel to be considered human."

I then stormed out of the Great Hall without waiting for a response. He talked as if it was just a battle and he'd be right back. The eastern bridge was a week's ride away. The slave revolt had been growing by the day. It could be a long war if things continue to progress the way they are. Link may be gone for months...if he even survives. Then after it, it will be the army's duty to fix and maintain what waste the slaves have ravaged throughout the land. Military law will be instated in the villages to the far east. Link will have to remain there long after the revolt to make sure things stay settled down. It wasn't just a battle, it was much more than that. Damn father to the deepest levels of hell for talking like this wasn't a big deal.

I rushed to Link's room, I didn't bother knocking and entered. He sat on his bed but rose when I entered. He read my face instantly. He gave a knowing smile. "When do I leave?"

"You aren't." I commanded. "You will never leave."

"Princess," He chuckled soberly, "You can tell me."

I started crying, why, why was I always crying? Why was fate so cruel? It was a malice beast that never allowed any person happiness. Why should I be granted any? The Goddesses have forsaken me in my pleas for sanity. They have cursed me with a love that can never blossom. To live with a pained heart for my life.

"You are to help put down the slave revolt." I whispered so quietly hoping he wouldn't hear.

"I heard about that," He nodded thinking. "When do I leave?"

"Immediately." I told him.

"Yes, my Princess." He grabbed his sword and his gear, which he hadn't even had time to unpack.

_Yes, my Princess._ That line, he always utters that line. It drives me insane as I question how anyone could understand so easily. Didn't he know what I was telling him to do?

"You can hate me," I spoke letting the tears fall freely down my face. "I will understand." It will be so much easier if he hates me, I wish for him to hate me.

I felt my face being lifted by his hand pressing lightly under my chin. I stared into his eyes. "Zelda, I could never hate you."

He then placed his lips on mine, proof he felt the same way I felt of him. I returned it strongly. I wrapped my arms around him so tightly, afraid he'd vanish in another moment. Doesn't he know this will only make it worse? To hate each other would be easy, it would make life better. But this, a kiss, it will only cause more pain, and yet, even knowing that, I cannot help but kiss back strongly. It is irrational but it is unexplainable. To hate would be easy, to love would be hard, but all the same, I choose love without hesitation.

Link pulled back. "I'm going." He walked passed me but I spun around and grabbed his hand. I felt his ring, the proof he was mine and I was his. It was the most precious piece of gold in this entire world, but even in my grasp, it felt distant.

"Don't go!" I shouted. "I know I can convince my father!"

He squeezed my hand. "I would never live with myself if I didn't go." He raised my hand to his mouth and placed a light kiss on it. "I will return to you."

And he left, right out the door, and I wanted to chase him, but my legs wouldn't move. I collapsed to the ground. I've never cried so hard in my life then when I wept on that cold stone floor. This was too painful and to cruel. I couldn't stand it. I was given hope again only to have it ripped away from me. My chest pounded painfully, as I felt my warming heart start to freeze over. How can one even survive with this wild turn of fate? Not one moment of rest on this twisted ride of fortune, that the world seems to find so enjoying to watch my sanity break. How can anyone stand on their feet after being beaten back and forth with cruel irony? Is this an amusement of the goddesses, do they take pleasure in watching me suffer? Have I angered them in some way?

Who was I to complain when Link was the truly unfortunate one? To fight and travel across the forbidden seas, only to come back and be sent off to battle. And he doesn't complain, not even once. He doesn't blame me or my father, no one. How can such a person exist? It memorizes me to see him so strong. But as strong as he is, I am weak and I can only wait.

The rest of the day goes by me unnoticed. I felt like I was in another world, looking down on this one. People tried to make me feel better, but it was hopeless. As long as Link was gone, I was shut down. Could I really live like this for another year? The short break only made matter worse for me, to end it with a kiss. It was too brutal on me, and I feared I wouldn't be able to last like this.

I went to sleep holding the letter I received this morning. The joke of a letter. He waited a day to come to me, only to make fun of me. If he didn't, I would've had a night to spend with him. He's such an idiot. I hate him for that. I hate him for going so willingly. I hate him for not hating me. I hate him for so many things, but even so, I could never love anyone more.

I fell back into my routine, and before I knew it, I was standing at the gate once again.

Only yesterday did I see Link, but that felt so long ago. I stood in this cold, dark, hateful rain. The angst that welled inside me was indescribable as I felt myself being lost to the depressed nature around me. I wondered if maybe the goddesses didn't hate me but wept with me. My feet went numb and I knew that next my shivering would stop. It was routine after all. It was how my life worked. Standing in this rain, waiting, clinging to the tiniest part of hope in such a pathetically demeaning way. To get a letter was all I wished to keep me moving. I couldn't go one day without standing by this gate waiting. I was sad and disgusted in myself. But it didn't matter, because I was going to stand here, and I would wait as long as I had to.

I heard a noise, and the mailman walked in. He wasn't surprised I was there, he must've seen the letter and known Link left again. I held out my hand, Link always sent a letter the first day. I knew this, so at the very least I wasn't building my hopes for nothing.

The mailman handed it over and gave me a sorrowful smile before moving on his way.

I hunched over to keep the letter protected as I opened it. Something fell out of it and into the mud. I bent down and picked it up. It was a necklace with a beautiful aqua gem hanging off of it. The mud covered it slightly but I held it out in the rain to wash it off. As I did I read the letter.

Dearest Princess Zelda, I forgot to give this to you yesterday, when I saw it I instantly thought of you, I hope you like it. Sincerely, Link. P.S. I love you.

I didn't know I was crying until I saw the tears fall onto the letter, staining it. That idiot, he was making this so hard. How can he just say something so important so easily like that? More than anything I wished for him to yell at me in this letter, or even show some disgust towards me. But to give me a gift and then declare his love. Who does he think he is? He makes me so mad, but only because he makes me so happy. It makes no sense; my thoughts have no way of thinking straight. He confuses me so much and makes me so depressed. How is this healthy to go on like this? The truth of the matter…it wasn't. All common sense would be to stop caring for him, but I couldn't. I was already his long ago and I knew no matter what, I'd always be his. And until he was with me in person. I wouldn't be happy, or satisfied until he came back to me. I don't care if it was selfish of me to act this way, I had no control over it. It was unfair that he was taken from me in such a way.

I promised myself I wouldn't wait at gate again until Link returned. I never kept that promise, not even once. I waited every day by that gate for a letter. People watched me and no one said a word. They knew why I was doing it, whether they understood or not, they knew my routine. I was not oblivious as they whispered about me waiting in the midst of winter, in the heat of summer, in the cold dark rain of autumn. I was unmoving as the seasons passed waiting…just waiting for Link. There was nothing else I cared for. I became what they all whispered about me. The Melancholic Princess.

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><p><strong>I'll be honest, I'm fairly embarrassed I actually wrote this. Leave a review and let me know if it was any good, if not, I may stay away from stuff like this in the future. <strong>


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